Iranian firefighters chase away 50 wolves from northwestern city

A pack of at least 50 wolves has been repelled safely by members of fire department in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province, after reports of a growing menace posed by the wild animals.

The wolves had gathered in a fruit garden close to the newly-built town of Kooye Farzaneh in suburbs of the city of Takab, making it their night lair, where they created public panic particularly through nightly growling and howling, said the head of fire department of Takab, Rasoul Shadabi, on Saturday.

Firefighters were dispatched to the area, where they set up booby traps, made fire, and hurled fireworks to scare the wild animals away.

The firefighters, with the assistance of a number of local residents, were engaged in the operation from 5 pm on Thursday to 2 am on Friday and finally managed to chase away the pack and destroy its den. The pack went back to the nearby mountains, where they came from. According to Shadabi, not a single wolf was hurt in the operation.

A view of Takab in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province

Iranian wolves, a subspecies of gray wolf, tend to be slightly smaller than their northern European and American counterparts, standing approximately 45 centimeters (18 inches) to 76 centimeters (30 inches) tall at the shoulder and weighing roughly between 25 kilograms (55 pounds) and 30 kilograms (70 pounds).

Their light-gray fur is short with either little or no undercoat, due to drier and harsher climate they live in.